DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / November 24, 2000

LAPLACE – So long to the short sleeves and T-shirts. Though it took its goodtime getting here, it seems the winter season has finally come a’calling.

With the cold beginning to sink into the River Parishes, more people are turning to their thermostats to warm themselves up. The higher thethermostat goes, the more those bills seem to inch upward. Often the billshit just in time for the holiday season, when money is better spent on gifts and holiday spirit.

Cyril Guerrera, Entergy’s manager of Louisiana Communications, has a few simple but important tips to remember when trying to save money on your heating bill.

First and foremost, if you can, keep the thermostat on 68 degrees.

“Each extra degree above 68 adds 3 percent to the heating bill,” said Guerrera. With many people traveling for the holiday season, Guerrerareminds that turning the thermostat down while your gone will help costs as well.

Other simple tips to remember are to open the drapes on a sunny day and catch the solar heating. At night or on cloudy days, close the drapes to keepthe heat from escaping out of the windows.

Another way to keep heat from escaping from the windows is to cover them in plastic. Many hardware stores offer specially designed sheets of plasticwith sticky borders to attach to the window sills. Run a hair dryer across theplastic to remove wrinkles and tighten the surface.

Be sure to check you air filters on the furnaces. Blocked or dirty filtersmake it harder to heat the house.

“Make sure to clean or replace the filters every day or so,” said Guerrera.

Daniel Young, manager at Landeche Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Service, agrees with that simple task. Clean the filters on a monthly basis,said Young. Young also advised different options for keeping your house moreenergy efficient in the winter months.

Programmable thermostats help to keep the desired temperature both day and night. Insulation is always a good factor, said Young. The insulation paysfor itself, one cost and it lasts, he added.

Young also suggests the use of heat pumps for more efficient heating rather than straight electrical heating. All heaters need to be maintained, so don’tforget to have them checked out by a professional, reminded Young.

The weather always seems to get you on both sides – the cost of air conditioning in the summer and the cost of heating in the winter. For acheaper heating bill, try to follow the above tips to make your home more energy efficient in the holiday season.

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